New L3301 HST won't crank

[wfishtx]

So I just hopped off my tractor after mowing for about 3 hours. I disengaged the PTO, lowered the throttle, set the parking brake and hopped off as I have done several times before without issue. I came into the house for a minute or two, walked back out and it wasn't running. The letters "OPC" were on the hour meter, so I figured it shut itself off because no one was in the seat. Sat back down, engaged the clutch and tried to crank it and it wouldn't even try to start. All the lights would come on and the engine would simply click, but wouldn't even turnover. I got off, raised the seat to make sure nothing was messing with the OPC switch and all looked fine. I put it in neutral, verified the PTO was disengaged, verified the cruise wasn't on, toggled the foot pedal and still nothing.

Hoping someone might have some thoughts on a possible solution.

Thanks

 

[Diydave]

Battery check time...

 

[wfishtx]

Well, I figured it out. Apparently the PTO switch is a little sensitive and the tractor believed it to still be engaged and therefore would not crank even though it was clearly in the off position.

I simply held it all the way back and turned the key at the same time and it fired right up.

Next time I'll wait to hear it disengage before I climb off.

Diydave - the battery was my first thought, but it only has 11 hours on it and I had just got off after several hours if running, so I knew it had to be good and charged. Luckily that wasn't it.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Another sensor that causes that problem is inside the seat, in combination with the pedal.

So the switches to check again are the pto switch, the seat switch, the seat tilt switch, and the hst pedal. Beyond that it's call the dealer, but it sure sounds like one of those is unhappy.

Oops sounds like you figured it out while I was typing.

 

[KBinCT]

The seat sensor on my L3901 is super sensitive. If I lean a little to the right the tractor will start to shut off until I straighten myself back up in the seat.

 

[wfishtx]

The seat sensor on my L3901 is super sensitive. If I lean a little to the right the tractor will start to shut off until I straighten myself back up in the seat.

I've noticed that as well. I'll lean one way or the other to avoid a hanging tree limb or something and it'll start to cut out on me until I lean back over.

That thing might find a piece of tape on it before too long.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

WFishTX,

On my model, the bracket is fairly flimsy and bending it allows for more contact with the seat. Problem solved.

 

[264ever]

I have the same tractor and had the same problem last night. Your post saved me a lot of time and going to the dealer today! Thank you!

 

[Takota]

The seat sensor on my L3901 is super sensitive. If I lean a little to the right the tractor will start to shut off until I straighten myself back up in the seat.

Same thing on my L3301. I bent the bracket like previously stated and it seemed to help.

 

[Oaknoll~SC]

My 2019 L3301 having same problem but I cannot determine which safety switch is having the trouble. HOw many total switches on this model?
I've tried the PTO & seat weight to no luck yet.is there one under the metal hump cover for the brake lock lever?
Wasting a good weekend if I don't get it running...(>

 

[lugbolt]

it's a pretty old thread, but I'll give it one more go. If you search, you'll find this information.

On the L01 (and probably L02) series, one can test each switch without actually "testing" it. It also verifies the wirings to the switches, basically tells you what the ECU sees. I wish I had done a video on this when I was at the dealership. It's an invaluable tool-and it's built into the tractor.

Sittin in the seat, key off. Hold both of the buttons on the left (park regen and inhibit) at the same time, and hold them down while you turn the key on. Look at the hourmeter. It should show "a" in the meter. Let go of the buttons. Now, still showing "a" in the meter, hold both buttons down again. In a second or two it should say "a: 273" or something like that, what it says does not matter as long as it's A then colon then a set of figures. You should also hear a beep as it goes into the test mode. Now let go of those two buttons, you won't need to mess with em anymore. Now climb up out of the seat, you should hear a beep. Move the PTO switch off and on, it should beep as you go to "on" and again as you go to "off". Same for gear switch, and HST switch on HST tractors. All of the safety switches should beep including the park brake switch. If you find one that doesn't that's the one that's a culprit.

on the L01 series (not familiar with the L02's), the seat switch will not cause the engine to fail to crank over. It is not in the start circuit. The PTO and HST or gear/neutral switch are, though and those are the ones that are the most frequent causes of no-crank condition on the L-01 series.